Ron was my workshop leader at Squaw Valley Writers Conference last summer, helping me fine-tune my short story, "Farallon," which Narrative Magazine is featuring as a Story of the Week (through this Saturday; archived on Sunday).
I learned so much from Ron and my mates, and can't wait to join my fellow Sirenlanders in 11 short days. (I've told everyone I know I'm going, and have accumulated an amazing list of hellos to share with Ron, Dani, Hannah, Jim, and Michael.)
Meanwhile, I'd be honored if you'd take a look. See you all soon!
We're excited to announce that award-winning writer (and One Story author) Nam Le will be joining us as at Sirenland for a day or two. He'll be giving a reading and you'll all get a chance to meet him and talk books. Here's a great interview with him from The New York Timesto help you get acquainted.
Bad Juju and Other Tales of Madness and Mayhem Jonathan Woods. New Pulp (Ingram, dist.), $14.95 paper (220p) ISBN 978-0-9815579-7-7
Violence, sex, and gonzo plot twists fuel Woods's diverting collection of 19 stories, most set in sun-and-blood-drenched borderlands. “Incident in the Tropics,” “Down Mexico Way,” “Maracaibo,” and “We Don' Need No Stinkin' Baggezz” amp up the volume to 11, while other offerings feature flying sharks, the adventures of a bodiless head, and a slime thing quickly snaking up nostrils. Woods, who earned his neo-pulp rep in Web zines such as Dogmatika and Plots with Guns, keeps the words popping along, though the endings of his stories are often inconsequential—only more reason to hop instantly into the next yarn. Throughout, a penchant for vivid imagery slaps the reader around like a boxing bag: “A veneer of sweat covers her body like the glaze on a Christmas ham”; “shadows as murky as an abortion clinic in the Bible Belt”; “Her small conical breasts confronted him like twin interstellar ray guns.” New pulp, indeed. (Apr.)
Dani has an amazing essay in today's LA Times about how to endure as a writer. I'd highly recommend it to all Sirenlanders. And if you missed Dani's appearance on the Today Show yesterday, you can go here to see the clip!
I first heard of Sirenland on a cold Saturday in March of 2007. I saw an ad in Poets & Writers and immediately went to the website. I had loved Dani's novel Family History, had been a subscriber of One Story for years, and had been to Le Sirenuse twice. I could not believe that the applications had closed before I even knew about the workshop.
I tried to apply anyway. I even sent Michael an email, explaining I could come if anyone had to drop out at the last minute. He answered within an hour that he and Dani and Jacob were already in Italy but that he would keep my number handy.
That Saturday I spent hours reading every word of every post on the blog, and I felt like I was going too. All the preparations were so exciting--the Italian lessons, the manuscripts arriving, the packing lists. It's all still here in the Archives for February and March of 2007.
This year will be my third at Sirenland. Last year my husband Cal came with me, and he's coming again this year. I'm happy to answer any questions about what to bring or what to wear or traveling or anything. If you'd like to see who I am, you can find me at my blog, Catching Days. There are a few posts there about Sirenland too.
One of my favorite things to do while in Positano is after the morning workshop to climb the 1700 stairs for lunch at a little trattoria high above the sea. In 2008 we climbed during a torrential rain storm that turned the stairs into waterfalls. Last year we found a new trattoria where the brothers cook from their garden and are very generous with platters of desserts and liqueurs on the house! So be sure to put comfortable shoes on your packing list.
I look forward to seeing familiar faces and meeting new ones.
Sirenland is happy to announce the winner of the 2010 Sirenland Fellowship: Bruce Machart
Bruce Machart's fiction has appeared in One Story, Zoetrope, Story, Glimmer Train, and elsewhere, and has been anthologized in Best Stories of the American West. This October, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt will publish his debut novel, The Wake of Forgiveness, and his collection of stories, entitled Men in the Making, will follow in the fall of 2011. A graduate of the MFA program at Ohio State University, Machart currently lives and teaches in his hometown of Houston.
The Sirenland fellowship provides travel, room and board and fees for attending The Sirenland Writers Conference in Positano, Italy. It is given to a writer who is in the process of completing a project, but has not published a book before March, 2010. The fellowship cannot be applied for; candidates are nominated by a panel of publishing professionals. All entries are read blind and the winner chosen by Dani Shapiro.
Congratulations to Said. When Skateboards Will be Free has been chosen by the NY Times' Dwight Garner as one of the 10 Best Books of 2009.
'When Skateboards Will Be Free: A Memoir of a Political Childhood'
By SAÏD SAYRAFIEZADEH
This delicate, discerning memoir is about growing up with parents who were committed members of the Socialist Workers Party; it reads like a peculiar bedtime story. (The Dial Press, $22 )
When Peggy and I entered Glendale Civic Center last Saturday night, we knew two of my stories had already been declared winners in Arizona Authors 29th annual literary contest. But we didn't know at what level. First? Second? Third? Honorable Mention? (The contest officials make it a practice of holding off the specifics until the formal dinner is over--the better to increase attendance.)
The dinner turned out to be far more fascinating than I expected. I sat next to an Arizona woman and her husband, a native of Afghanistan. Her book on her 10 years in Af'stan with him, their kids and his mother (who took care of the kids while she worked) won her a Pulitzer nomination. She held me spellbound with her tales of their food and customs. Then it came time for the awards.
I'm happy to say that my "El Caballo Blanco" took First Prize in Fiction.
My Memoir entry--"Jimimy Cricket" (you recall it was featured in the NY Times about a year ago) won Second Prize.
I also walked out with the most money--the princely sum of $150. Spread that amount over the number of hours I spent writing and editing these stories, and somebody's in serious violation of our Minimum Wage Laws.
We stayed overnight at our daughter's Scottsdale home and celebrated by taking Annie and David to a well earned Sunday morning breakfast.
Peggy and I are very poor photographers. Nevertheless, Peggy did get a shot of me at the mike. I'll scan it over in the next day or two.
If he ever gets around to sending the photo we'll post it here.
(Apparently the photo of Bob didn't come out very well, so we'll post this one of Bob doing his Dr. Evil impression by the pool at Le Sirenuse to make up for it)
Hi Everyone, Come see Said - recipient of the 2008 Sirenland followship - read at a fantastic and free event coming up in Brooklyn! Details are below, hope to see you there! Nina
Date: Monday, November 16, 2009 Time: 8:00pm - 10:00pm Location: Franklin Park Bar and Beer Garden -- Crown Heights, Brooklyn Street: 618 St. John's Place, between Franklin and Classon Avenues City/Town: Brooklyn, NY
DRINK SPECIALS Subway: 2, 3, 4, 5 to Franklin Ave www.franklinparkbrooklyn.com
November's readers tell tales of unconventional families -- sex-crazed moms, teenage aliens, rabid socialist parents and a gun-packing Vietnam vet dad.
Featuring: AMY SOHN (Prospect Park West, My Old Man, Run Catch Kiss) SAID SAYRAFIEZADEH (When Skateboards Will Be Free) JOBIE HUGHES (I Am Number Four/young adult series, Agony at Dawn) LIANNE STOKES (Rejected: Tales of the Failed, Dumped and Canceled, comedian)
